Bearcats big loss to Big Red

3/11/2014 (Updated 11:10:41 PM)

VESTAL, N.Y. The Binghamton womens lacrosse team fell to visiting Cornell 15-4 in a non-conference matchup, Tuesday night at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The Bearcats (4-2) committed a season-high 23 turnovers as the Big Red (4-1) jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back. Binghamton played its first home night game since 2010. The contest was originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 12 but a potential snow storm move the game up a day.

We struggled to execute our game plan tonight, head coach Stephanie Allen said. We didnt value the ball and that cost us several possessions. I thought we did a good job off the draw, but the amount of turnovers on offense put us in a hole and we cant be playing that many minutes of defense.

Binghamton was led by four different goal scorers as junior Renee Kiviat, sophomore Allie Rodgers and freshmen Callon Williams and Bri Arthur all netted goals for the Bearcats. Senior captain Angela Vespa recorded Binghamtons lone assist.

The Bearcats controlled the draw circle (9-of-13) in the opening 30 minutes of play, but 13 first-half turnovers hampered Binghamtons offense. Cornell raced out to an 8-0 lead before Williams free position goal handed Binghamton its first goal at the 9:49 mark. Almost five minutes later Vespa found a cutting Kiviat inside the fan to trim the deficit to seven, 9-2. The Bearcats were able to get off just 10 shots in the first half as Cornell eased to a 10-2 lead at the break.

Cornell opened the second half on a 3-0 run to extend its lead to 13-2 with 16:53 remaining in the game. Arthur tallied her team-leading 19th goal of the season following a Cornell yellow card and man-up opportunity for the Bearcats. Rodger rounded out the offense for Binghamton recording her fourth goal of the year in the final two minutes of play.

Cornell outshot Binghamton 31-19 while the Bearcats won 15-of-21 draw controls. The Big Red edged out the Bearcats in the ground ball battle 17-14. Both teams struggled from the eight-meter with Binghamton going 1-of-8 and Cornell converting just 1-of-4.

Freshman Valerie DeNapoli had a solid game defensively for the Bearcats causing four turnovers and picking up a pair of ground balls and draw controls. Rodgers added a team-high five draw controls to her goal. Sophomore goalie Erin McNulty allowed the games first seven goals to register the loss and fall to 4-2. The second-year starter was replaced by junior Kara Pafumi who played the final 40 minutes and made six stops.

Binghamton hits the road for the first time in two weeks when they head to Buffalo on Saturday, March 17 for a meeting with three-time defending MAAC champion Canisius. Binghamton assistant coach Allison Daley, a 2011 Canisius graduate, was a three-time All-MAAC selection with the Golden Griffs and led her alma mater to the 2011 MAAC title.